Nigeria orders 12 attack helicopters from US

The Nigerian Air Force has taken a significant step towards acquiring 12 AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters, with Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Sunday Aneke leading a delegation to a beam signing ceremony with Bell Textron in Amarillo, Texas, as part of the Nigeria-United States Government defence cooperation programme.

According to The Punch,the ceremony, confirmed in a statement by Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, Director of Public Relations at NAF Headquarters, marks a milestone in the Federal Government’s drive to modernise Nigeria’s Armed Forces and strengthen its defence and security architecture.

“The acquisition of the AH-1Z Viper helicopters represents an important milestone in our continuing efforts to build a more capable, professional and mission-ready Nigerian Air Force,” Aneke said at the ceremony, where the NAF delegation also inspected the Viper production line at Bell Textron’s facility.

The Air Marshal expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for his “strategic leadership” and acknowledged the continued support of the United States Government and Bell Textron in implementing the programme.

The announcement comes just six days after the NAF took delivery of five new helicopters — three AW-109 Trekker B helicopters from Leonardo Helicopters of Italy and two H-125 helicopters from Airbus Helicopters — representing a rapid acceleration of Nigeria’s airpower modernisation drive as security challenges persist across multiple theatres of operation.